Marxist. Trade Unionist. Socialist-feminist. Author. Poet. Speaker. Tutor. RMT ex-Exec. Workers' Liberty. Autie. Bi. PUFC fan.
Autistic people face discrimination and prejudice in a society which expects us to understand and fit in with social rules that are not of our making. Autistic people are also part of the disabled people's fightback. This section includes my work providing 'Autism in the workplace' training and information for trade union representatives, plus campaign news, and personal and political observations.
Invited to an event
to answer a question of importance,
I walked along the street with highness,
went in through the door that revolves,
past the guard of security,
and spoke to the person with femaleness and helpfulness
at the desk of reception.
An assessment of trade unions as drivers of positive change for autistic people at work, written as an assignment for Postgraduate Certificate in Autism and Asperger Syndrome
[Note: this is not advocating a union for autistic workers, but assessing the potential of existing unions!]
Assignment written for the Postgraduate Certificate in Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Sheffield Hallam University.
WHY DOES WORK NOT WORK FOR US?
Thinking about practical humanistic models for supporting autistic people in distress, time for a paradigm shift?
A nature lover, mushroom finder,
activist and fighter
against oppression, for our future,
thinker, speaker, writer
Always radical, always left,
sometime Green and Labour,
A friend, a comrade, partner, mum,
a new-found Scottish neighbour
An organiser, platform builder,
amplifier of others
There's light at the end of the attention tunnel
thanks to your endeavours
Published in RMT News, July/August 2021
RMT members have helped to win justice for Osime Brown, a young, black, autistic, learning-disabled man. The union saw this as an issue that deserved our support and solidarity. Janine Booth, Secretary of RMT’s Disabled Members’ Advisory Committee, explains why.
===
This is the obituary of Dinah that I wrote for Solidarity
Workers’ Liberty is saddened to learn of the death of Dr Dinah Murray.
Dinah spoke alongside me at two of our Ideas for Freedom summer schools and at an online forum last year, on the subject of neurodiversity, autism, capitalism and Marxism. Each time she provided valuable insights and increased the level of understanding among the comrades who listened.
Janine Booth reviews ‘The Reason I Jump’
I don’t watch many documentaries about autism, and on the rare occasion when I sit down to watch one, I am overwhelmed with a sense of dread. So much rubbish is said on the subject, even by people who want to be on the right side. So many patronising tropes, so much pity, not enough solidarity.
(and why I prefer to think of it like this rather than as IFL vs PFL)
